The ever present tension of bottom line results and culture

This does not become any easier especially since we live in a society that brings a focus on the short term - and the short term generally demands a focus on the bottom line. Stakeholders all too often want short term results and this usually means we ignore the impact on culture, and of course people.

We need to demand a focus on sustainability for the long term - from a people, brand and financial perspective. Too frequently we demand financial results at the complete expense of the people and brand - we need more creative thinking to find collaborative and holistic ways of managing this ever present tension.

Increasingly these stakeholders are customers/clients - are we prepared to allow them to dictate the way we treat our people and develop our brand? It is time to be courageous and stay true to culture and brand and have the courageous conversations with our customers.

Just how challenging can we be?

I facilitated a session recently on engaging in challenging conversations constructively and it was inspiring to hear everyone walk away willing to adopt the mantle of courageous leader and actively unleash the courage to have more of these conversations.

We explored the importance of these conversations to innovation, collaboration, engagement and high performance. All made logical sense.

Then we explored what holds us back then if the benefits are so great.

Fear of consequences holds people back - they do not want to make themselves vulnerable - as vulnerability is still seen by many people as weak.

I felt myself feeling disillusioned because challenging is still not embraced constructively - when emerging leaders unleash their courage to initiate a challenging conversation they are still being met far too often with a response that comes from positional power! So their vulnerability is rewarded with power - more opposing tensions at play - the other is that of fear and courage. These emerging leaders fear for their continued employment in the business - what a way to feel when you are about to engage in a challenging conversation.

Don't let 'stuff' get in the way of a very real conversation

Relationships get bogged down in stuff and the stuff becomes more important than the relationship. A recent experience with a member of our Courageous Leaders Community highlighted this perfectly. Once we reaffirmed with each other that our relationship was strong, that the contextual issues we were facing were important and needed to be resolved however they were never going to be bigger and more important than our relationship - it freed us to have a number of brilliantly honest conversations where we each owned our stuff and shared it without fear of judgement or reprisal.

People need to find ways to do this with greater regularity in the workplace. Instead they fear what will happen when they raise the stuff and share their thoughts and feelings - so they don't have the conversation and the tension remains unresolved. This is why the Australian business culture is fraught with avoidance........we would rather say nothing and hope it all goes away and then we don't need to talk about it or hear it from the other person.

Courageous Leaders make the relationships more important than the stuff and so can courageously talk about the stuff, resolve it and not let it get in the way of a strengthened relationship.

The Changing Face of Leadership Models

After reading this article on Google’s innovative management structure, I started thinking about additional ways a bi-generational leadership team could help businesses to grow.

Underlying much of what we do at Courageous Leaders are such things as looking at the future sustainability of the business we’re working in, believing in and working towards behaviour change that contribute to that future sustainability and courage in leadership – all of those daily acts leaders are required to do that need a little bit of courage to approach, confront and overcome.

Future sustainability of the business for us means integrating the people and the organisation – having an alignment of goals and purpose within the company’s culture. A mixture of characteristics attributed to Generation X, Y and Baby Boomer leaders could help achieve just that;

-          the drive and dedication that characterise Baby Boomers coupled with the self-worth they derive from their work,

-          the balance of work and life that Generation X strive to achieve and their adaptability to change,

-          the global, technologically savvy outlook that Generation Y possess in addition to their propensity to enjoy being mentored by older generations.

It sounds like a dream combination!

The behaviour changes that would need to occur from an old-style vertical hierarchy would be huge – the entrenched systems, processes and ways of working that have been carried out for decades would need to be recalibrated.

Baby Boomer idealists who believe they can change the world and question the status quo should have no trouble changing processes that no longer make sense, Gen X we have already mentioned adapt well to change and Gen Y are seen as cooperative team players.

Although the general characteristics of these three generations appear to point to the logical - and seemingly smooth - conclusion that multiple generations at the helm do make a stronger company, there is a courage required to make it actually work.

Courage to share leadership where previously there has been none.

Courage to give and receive feedback where misinterpretation and indignation is likely.

Courage to embrace personal responsibility in ensuring the behaviour changes that have been identified as necessary to succeed are continued, despite the easier option of returning to the status quo lurking.

Do you think bi-generational leadership works? Why or why not?

The Gift of Feedback

Giving and receiving feedback are incredibly challenging conversations for anyone no matter how skilled and how emotionally conscious. It is a topic I have discussed in a previous blog about our natural response to then label those giving the feedback – particularly if it is not as positive as you’d like.

This was confirmed in a recent experience as I facilitated conversations about behaviour and performance in a group workshop activity. I found myself beginning to be labelled and almost blamed for the actions and responses of others. Fortunately it was the wise words of a participant that caught everyone's attention when he claimed, "we need to stop blaming Mandy and finding excuses for the way we behaved - all she did was hold up a mirror and we haven't liked what we saw!"

It was an insightful comment – and is the best way of visualizing such conversations. When giving feedback, remember people may not like what the mirror reflects so be patient, be kind and remain vigilante with your focus and your truth.

When receiving feedback, remember to see the mirror as a precious gift that presents fabulous opportunity if you let it. In most cases, the person giving the feedback is trying to help you grow, learn and improve. Pushing back on them and not heeding (or hearing) the truth of the conversation only impedes your progress as a courageous leader.

Courageous leaders know that giving and receiving feedback are the conversations you have to have if you want truly inspiring and trusted relationships - because we know we reap what we tolerate!

- Mandy.